Smoking,information sources,and risk perceptions—New results on Swedish data

Using data on Swedish adolescents, this study examines (1) perceptions of the addictiveness and mortality risk of smoking, (2) the effects of these perceptions on smoking behaviour, and (3) the role of various smoking risk information sources. The average respondent believed that 46 out of 100 smokers would die from diseases caused by their smoking. As to addictiveness perceptions, the average respondent believed that 68 out of 100 smokers trying to quit would not succeed. Both a higher perceived addictiveness and a higher perceived mortality risk were negatively related to smoking participation. The results showed substantial variation in the weight that the teenagers attached to the various information sources.

Smoking Risks in Spain: Part II—Perceptions of Environmental Tobacco Smoke Externalities

Previous studies of smoking risk beliefs have focused almost exclusively on risks to the smoker. Using an original set of survey data from Spain, we examine the public's perceived risks from exposures to environmental tobacco smoke. The risk categories considered included lung cancer, heart disease, life expectancy loss, and low birth weight for children of smoking mothers. Risk beliefs were quite high, often dwarfing scientific estimates of the risk. The results are consistent with overestimation of risks from highly publicized, low probability events.